Executive Summary

• What’s new: The UK plans to launch a whistleblower incentive programme along the lines of that in the US to encourage individuals to come forward with information about tax evasion.
• Why it matters: The scheme, which will increase incentives, is intended to tackle high-value tax avoidance and evasion, and may result in an increase in the number of UK tax authority enquiries and investigations.
• What to do next: Companies will want to review whistleblowing policies to ensure effective internal reporting channels and protocols, and training and policies for dawn raids may need to be refreshed.

In the November 2025 Budget, the UK government confirmed that His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be introducing a “US-style” whistleblower incentive scheme (Scheme) in the UK. The Scheme is designed to encourage individuals to come forward with valuable information that enables HMRC to tackle high-value tax avoidance and evasion. HMRC already has access to a discretionary payment scheme under the Commissioners and Revenue and Customs Act, to reward whistleblowers. However, payments made under this provision were rare and low.

The enhanced Scheme offers materially increased financial incentives to whistleblowers, geared to the tax collected by HMRC using the informant’s information. The government is pressuring HMRC to close the “tax gap” by launching more investigations into individuals and companies.

The structure of the Scheme reflects HMRC’s preview...

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